Frederick Klose
Executive Director
California Agricultural Export Council
Michael S. Snow has been the Executive Director of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) since 1999, where he oversees the Council's promotional programs around the globe, and manages AHEC's overseas offices in Europe, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and China. Previously, he served as AHEC's Program Manager for Europe, China and Japan.
Frederick Klose took over the leadership of the California Agricultural Export Council (CAEC) in 2002, after 14 years with the California Department of Food & Agriculture. His 25 year career has run the gamut of California agriculture – from fixing broken harvesters during the height of tomato season, to exporting alfalfa hay cubes as feed for Kobe cattle for Mitsui Corporation. He is responsible for numerous successful promotional campaigns in Japan, including California honeydew melons, and “Fresh from the West” specialty vegetables. Mr. Klose is a graduate of the College of Agriculture at the University of California, Davis, and lives in Sacramento with his wife, Dawn, and their 3 children.
Since the founding of the California Agricultural Export Council in 1995, Japan has been our most important trading partner.
Since the founding of the California Agricultural Export Council in 1995, Japan has been our most important trading partner. Over the intervening 15 years, CAEC has focused on the Japan market more than on any other – operating programs for fresh vegetables, avocados, figs, pomegranates, pecans. We continue to look to Japan as a potential partner for other CAEC products, such as Medjool Dates and California Olive Oil. Japan remains an important export market for CAEC’s products, as well as for California in general. In fact, when CAEC was founded, Japan was California agriculture’s number one trading partner by far, only falling behind Canada in 1999. To this day, Japan retains it’s position behind Canada in the list of California’s top trading partners.
Working together with our Japanese partners, CAEC has made great strides in furthering the cause of healthy / nutritional eating habits in Japan – by introducing innovative new uses for California products, and promoting the culinary trend of “California Cuisine” to Japanese chefs. We hope we have made a positive contribution to Japanese diners, just as wasabi, sushi, and Japanese beers have done for California!
Over the years, Japan has proven to be a profitable and dependable market, and today we count numerous importers, retailers, media personnel, and government officials amongst our friends – and try to visit the market as many times as possible – despite our busy schedules. In March 2010, CAEC’s Executive Director Frederick Klose attended the Foodex show in Makuhari Messe to participate in the kickoff events for the “Partners in Agriculture” program with the US Ambassador and the staff of the US Embassy, and also to meet with many old friends who were visiting the tradeshow. He was surprised at how much the Foodex show had changed in the 5 years since he had last attended, and yet how familiar it remained. This combination of “innovation” and “tradition” is what continues to make Japan a fascinating market, while continuing to offer great rewards for California agricultural products.
